In light of Harold Camping’s failed prediction, I was hoping that he would learn his lesson and admit his error. But as I suspected in my last post, that was hoping for too much. Apparently now he is making up an excuse (again) to cover up his mistake. Rather than admit his error, repent of his disobedience to the Bible and commit himself to learning how to interpret the Bible using a reliable method such as historical-grammatical exegesis, Mr. Camping continues to defend his predictions, claiming that it wasn’t his calculations that were wrong but rather his interpretation of the events. He claims that the dates are correct but that the events happened in a different manner than he had predicted.

This kind of response is nothing less than outrageous. In this International Business Times article, he is reported as saying that Judgment Day did come, but “it was spiritual.” That kind of rationalization should not surprise us, seeing how Mr. Camping has often used spiritualization and allegorization to get around objections from people or Bible verses that don’t fit his theories. Now he is using the same technique to get around the stark reality that his prediction failed to come true on May 21. On top of that, he still claims that the end will come on October 21. Will he use the same evasive maneuver when that does not come true?

Mr. Camping is also reported as saying, “We don’t always hit the nail on the head the first time.” No true prophet would ever have to make such an excuse because genuine prophets always “hit the nail on the head” the first time, every time:

And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:21–22, ESV, emphasis added)

Camping is also recorded as saying, “All I am is a humble teacher.” No, that is not true. He is a false prophet who says things that God never said. The above quoted passage from God’s inspired word declares that authoritatively to be true.